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Most people will agree that William Shakespeare is the greatest playwright that ever lived and it would be hard to find someone who has not heard of him. Little is actually known about his childhood except that he was born in 1564 in Stratford - on-Avon and he probably attended grammar school in Stratford.
He had to know some Greek and Latin and a knowledge of Roman comedy, ancient history and classical mythology. He and Anne Hathaway were married in 1582 and she was pregnant at the time. They had three children. After he became an actor and playwright, and probably played a few old man parts in some of his play, he became successful and made enough money to buy "New Place" in Stratford. Even though his Father was not successful and had financial difficulties William retired in ease. He was part owner of a theater, but was not considered a wealthy man. It is not known the chronological order of his plays, but from the dates of publication and references to contemporary writings and events it is believed that Henry VI was the first one. The first one of the great tragedies in 1600 was "Hamlet". We usually think of him as a playwrtght of tragedies. Since his death in 1616 his plays have been performed in many languages and quoted more than any other single author. |
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